Another Routine Job
by coramdeo8
Summary: It's just another routine job to arrest a terrorist for questioning, when something goes terribly wrong. M for violence, will be a second part to this short.
1. Chapter 1

The door to the house burst open as it came undone from its hinges, and through it emerged Tony and Ziva with their SIG's drawn from their holsters. They split up moving through the house, clearing each room as they looked for Abdali Zarqawi, a member of Hezbollah who was running a terrorist cell in the D.C. area.

Tony motioned Ziva to search upstairs while he checked the downstairs rooms. Room by room they cleared the house, yelling "clear" each time they finished searching a room.

Eventually, they rallied back at the front door of the house. Their was no trace of Zarqawi anywhere.

"He's not here," Ziva said as she holstered her gun. "We missed him."

Tony shook his head and began walking around the room as he thought to himself.

"His car is still in the garage," he said. "Our boy in interrogation said that he was supposed to be here, waiting for a drop off. He has to be here."

They continued to walk around the hallways of the house, unable to find any rooms that they hadn't checked. Upstairs they stopped once again when they had not found him.

Tony sighed and pulled his phone out of his pocket, and pressed the speed dial for Gibbs' phone. "Well he's not here. We better let boss know that our lead just went cold."

Ziva didn't hear Tony. Instead, her eye was caught by a string that was swaying back in forth as it hung from the ceiling in one of the bedrooms. Her eyes followed the string up to where she noticed a doorway.

"Tony," she whispered as she tapped him on the shoulder. She pointed towards the ceiling and Tony upholstered his SIG once more.

They entered the room slowly, careful not to make any sounds. Ziva pulled down on the string to see a dark attic above them.

"Zarqawi? Federal Agents were ordering you to come out now," yelled Tony, but he heard nothing in reply. The two agents made eye contact with each other, knowing that they would both have to go up there to clear the room.

Tony climbed up the ladder with caution and peaked his eyes into the attic, checking all of his sectors around him before he continued to climb into the attic. It was fairly large, and stacked full of crates to which he presumed Zarqawi was stashing his weapons and bomb making materials. Tony scanned the room once more, then motioned for Ziva to come up as well.

They moved through the attic, prying open boxes and crates as they went. Neither of them found Zarqawi, just a plethora of automatic weapons and explosives. They neared the other end of the attic and only a half-dozen crates remained.

They approached a crate that was standing vertically, and stood on both sides of it. They looked at each other, and nodded. If he was hiding anywhere, this had to be it.

Both of their hearts palpitated in a frenzy. They had done this many times, but each time was just as risky. If he was in the crate, their wouldn't be anytime to react. In just a split second, they would have to see if he was armed or not, and then decide to shoot. One misjudgment and they both could be dead.

Tony held up his hand signaling he would count to three. _One, two, three_. Like a flash of lighting the two agents ripped open the side of the box, but to them they moved in slow motion. They whipped their guns into firing position into the crate ready to either apprehend or kill the terrorist. But, to their surprise, he wasn't there. They lowered their weapons in frustration, while they both stood looking into the empty crate.

Tony raised his head to look at the rest of the attic when his heart stopped. Over Ziva's shoulder he saw a middle eastern male emerge from behind the last crate in the attic with a pistol drawn to fire on them.

"Look out," Tony yelled as he shoved Ziva - who stood unknowingly between Zarqawi and Tony - to the ground.

Tony's finger pulled back on the trigger to take the killshot. But it was too late. The bullet from Zarqawi's gun ripped through Tony's stomach, throwing his shot off line, and his body to the floor.

Ziva was quick to collect herself, and from her back she fired three rounds through the terrorist as he took aim on her, and his body fell limp to the floor.

She propped herself up on to her knees over Tony, who was on the ground gasping for air. Blood soaked his white dress shirt as panic rushed through every vain in Ziva's body.

"Tony," she gasped in fear.

She pulled the cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Gibbs his speed dial.

The phone rang for what seemed like an eternity. She knew time wasn't on Tony's side as blood gushed from his wound. Finally, Gibbs answered.

"Gibbs! Tony's been shot, he needs help now," she yelled through the phone. On the other end Gibbs told her to hang on and hung up the phone. It was a race against time to get help to her teammate.

"Z-Ziva," said Tony as he struggled to get the words out.

"Quiet Tony, help is coming," she said in reply. She took off her jacket and wrapped it tightly around his body to help stop the bleeding.

She touched his forehead gently in an effort to calm him. To her, it was more of a way to calm herself. With her other hand she held pressure over the would as tears welled up in her eyes. She'd seen death many times in her life, even people she loved. But now Tony was on the verge of passing and she couldn't bear it.

"It'll be okay, Tony," she said with a whimper. "Stay with me! You're going to make it!"


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Hello to my readers. First of all thank you for all of you who have taken the time to read my stories and leave your views, comments, suggestions, praises, etc. You all have been very kind :) Second of all, I changed the the font in the first chapter from bold to regular. I had a few people ask me to change it, and I thank you for bringing that up. I'm not sure how that happened and I wouldn't have realized it unless you mentioned it. So thank you for that._

_Before you read the second half of this story, I just want to caution you that my string of stories about the growing love between Tony and Ziva is not over after this one. It started with my story about them and Paris, and now this one. I have an idea of a somewhat longer story than the first two, and would have a lot of action. More like a real episode, as far as it would include all of the characters and a larger plot if you will. It will take some time for me to finish, but if you like the sound of that idea let me know. I'm also open to some suggestions as to some of the stuff that you would like to see in that project. :) I promise to do my best to give you all what you want to see between them as well as what I'd like to see lol._

_So without further adoo, here is the second chapter of this story. Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

It was night time, and it was quiet despite the fact that it was the D.C. Hospital intensive care unit.

At the entrance of the room, the doors to the emergency room opened, and through it emerged Ziva. She found it eerie the several of the hall lights were turned off, and that only a few nurses were present in the room. It seemed more like a morgue, rather than a hospital.

Many of the lights in the rooms were turned out as Ziva took her time walking to Tony's room, adding to the already strange atmosphere which lingered throughout the hospital.

Finally, she arrived at the doorway to her partner's room. Her heart throbbed, writhing in pain as Tony slept in stable condition. She hated to see someone who was usually so full of life, appear as though he was now lifeless.

She entered the room and pulled chair up next to his bed. She set the paper bag she had brought with her on the floor, and leaned back as she fiddled with her hair which she had let down from her usual ponytail.

Ziva hoped Tony would be awake by now. He had slept most of the day, then was given a sedative to help him rest through the night. She desperately just wished to hear his voice - just to have reassurance that he was okay. However, he just laid there in his sleep.

She looked around the room for a moment, not sure what to do next. Above them, on the wall adjacent from Tony's bed, Alfred Hitchcock's _Rear Window_ was playing. Even amidst her distress, she smiled knowing that even though he was just shot and in the hospital, Tony probably annoyed the staff until they found one of his stupid movies for him to watch.

After glancing around the room, her eyes turned back to Tony. They raked over his motionless body. He truly was a very handsome man.

She sat up in her seat, and touched his hand. Secretly, she hoped it would wake him up so she could hear him speak. But again, in his deep sleep he remained.

"Hello, Tony," Ziva said in almost a whisper. She peered back over her shoulder and made sure nobody else would be able to hear her. "I see that your doing better than when I saw you last!"

At first, she felt awkward. She'd never attempted to have a conversation with someone that was unconscious.

"I feel like Ducky right now," she said.

She looked once more at Tony who hadn't moved at all, and she sighed. Small talk was pointless.

"I made you a sandwich," she continued despite her initial disposition. "I would have brought pizza, but I don't think they would have allowed it. It's in the bag when you wake up."

Ziva paused, and silence roared throughout the bedroom as she gently cleared her throat.

"You're probably wondering I came now, instead of with the rest of the team," she began. "I guess I just - wanted to thank you more personally. This is the second time that you've saved my life."

She looked at his face.

"Why did you do it Tony? Why did you save me in Somalia, after I turned my back on you? Why did you shove me to the ground, when you could have just taken the shot this morning?"

Ziva spoke softly, but her questions rang out through the room. She composed herself as her eyes glazed over with tears.

"Tony, believe me, I know that it could never be as long - as long as we were teammates. For five years I've been your partner, and every day, it grows more - and more. But seeing you like this - it scares me. It scares me that one day, I could lose you. I could lose you with being able to tell you - without hearing you tell me."

A tear glistened in Ziva's eye and began to roll down her cheek. She sniffled and fought to compose herself. Finally, she wiped her cheek and drew in a deep breath.

"I," she continued. "I love you, Tony! I hope that someday we can both accept it."

More tears welled up in her eyes as she stared up at the ceiling to fight them back. After another moment of sobs, she was able to pull herself together. She sat by his side until she could see light begin to fill the sky as the sun rose. Then, she stood from her chair and set the paper bag on the side of his bed.

She leaned over his face and gently stroked his forehead with her hand.

"I'll be back after work," she said.

Then, she cupped the side of his face in her hand and laid her soft lips upon his cheek. She left them there for a moment, not wanting to part from his face. Finally, she broke this kiss and gave a sheepish smile as she stood over him, then left the room.


End file.
